CINF 17 |
| When Amedeo Avogadro hypothesized, nearly 200 years ago, that "the number of integral molecules in any gases is always the same for equal volumes," neither he nor anyone else had any idea what that number was. This presentation will examine efforts of later investigators to determine the number of atoms or molecules in a given quantity of matter. It will survey approaches to the problem ranging from Loschmidt's 19th-century application of kinetic molecular theory to present-day experiments involving silicon spheres, emphasizing early 20th-century work by Einstein, Perrin, and Millikan. It will also touch on relationships between Avogadro's constant and other constants and units, particularly the kilogram. |
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Past, Present and Future of the Kilogram
3:30 PM-5:10 PM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Marriott Convention Center -- Blaine Kern C, Oral
Division of Chemical Information |